Nomadic Danes travel to Yale

I received my media pass for UAlbany's first home football game (Oct. 9 vs. St. Francis) this afternoon from the UAlbany Athletics department .

That must mean football is on the way.

Okay, I'm joking. Obviously, the Great Danes 2010 season is already underway.

I probably have mentioned this already, but it bears repeating that UAlbany is the only FBS or FCS team that doesn't have a home game in the month of September. They are probably the only team in the country, including Division II and III, but that's not verified.

Anyway, the Great Danes are trying to stop a two-game slide that has them thinking the 3-0 season-opening victory over Maine was so long ago it was last season.

On a negative note, freshman running back Tramaine Wilson will not travel for the second straight week. Coach Bob Ford said it's a personal issue and he's again hoping he'll be there next week for the home opener.

I had a chance to talk to senior Ross Bertrand, who is the only player from the state of Connecticut about playing Yale.

"I know it has great history behind it, but I've never been there," said the Stamford, Conn., native.

Bertrand says he'll have at least 25-30 people coming to the game.

Look for our game preview online and in print on Saturday.

Below senior defensive end Mike Kelly talks about the Yale game. I've been told he is a theater minor, so he should be a natural on camera.

The weight's on Rossiter's shoulders

Siena big man Ryan Rossiter had some help getting up to 258 pounds, what he said he weighed the last time he stepped on a scale.

During last week's Sneak Preview, Rossiter said he spent some of the offseason working with his brother, Stephen, who had just finished up his college basketball career at Davidson.

Stephen wants to start down the physical training path and the two joked that Ryan was his "first client".

Ryan said the two would wake up at 9 a.m., eat something, go running, eat something and then go to the gym to lift and work on his game.

"It was great having someone who wanted to give me 1-on-1 attention," Ryan said.

Ryan started last season weighing 240, but said he typically loses 10 pounds during the season, so he ended the year under 230.

He wanted to put on more weight, knowing that he's going to take more punishment this season as he is focused on by opposing defenses.

He also gave credit to his mother, Patty, who he said had delicious meals waiting for him on the table in between workouts.

Rossiter did say he didn't want to put on too much weight, something that could hinder his ability to run the floor.

The extra weight is already showing to be a positive.

"He's a very physical player now," said coach Mitch Buonaguro. Watching him the last month, he looks way more physical in the post."

Rossiter will be the biggest and best player on a different kind of Siena team this season. The Saints will have plenty of height and with the addition of Seton Hall transfer Brandon Walters, and the continued progress of O.D. Anosike and Davis Martens, the team will have four players taller than 6-foot-8. Another big body is Steven Priestley, who is 6-5.

"We're definitely going to be a better defensive team than we've been in the past," Rossiter said.

Rossiter also was excited for Walters to step on the floor. There were times last year, Rossiter said, that he had a harder time scoring in practice than in actual games.

"He's very hard to move, going against him in practice," said Rossiter of Walters.

Rossiter averaged 13.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game last season and will likely be the MAAC preseason Player of the Year choice coming into his final year in Loudonville.

"That's not something I worry about," he said. "If I'm fortunate enough to get that at the end of the season, that means, in my opinion, that we've won a MAAC championship and that's what we're looking for."

WPI wins Transit Trophy 24-10

The RPI football team made too many mistakes on this day and it cost them the Transit Trophy.

WPI picked up their first victory in this series between Engineers since 1996 by capitalizing on those mistakes and cashing in for a 24-10 victory at East Campus Stadium.

The Engineers from Troy thought they had the momentum swinging in their favor in the fourth quarter, but after the defense forced a punt with seven minutes to go, Pat McCarthy fumbled and WPI recovered.

The Engineers from Worcester made them pay as Aaron Champagne scored from eight yards out to give WPI a 24-10 lead.

Even before that, RPI’s miscues cost them dearly.

RPI tried a fake punt, trailing 10-7 in the third quarter, but Matt Wood was hauled down on a great defensive play.

The stop seemed to give WPI momentum as they took the ball right down the field for a touchdown and 17-7 lead.

WPI took the game’s opening kickoff and drove right down the field, scoring on a 1-yard run by Ernie Mello.

The drive took 8 plays and covered 62 yards.

RPI thought they had mustered some points when the defense caused a fumble from WPI quarterback Pat McAuley.

Brown picked up the ball and fumbled himself. It was then recovered in the end zone and ruled a touchback.

RPI couldn’t muster a first down in the first quarter. On the last play of the opening quarter, Pat McCarthy caught a 10-yard pass for a first down, but fumbled the ball away.

RPI finally got on the board after an 11-play 63-yard drive, when Mike Hermann tossed a jump ball to McCarthy on 3rd & goal for a 1-yard touchdown.

Sophomore Steven Burpoe made a huge catch on the drive, taking a big hit, but hauling in a first down to set RPI up inside the 5.

About the Great Danes: UAlbany is 5-1 at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level after a bye week. The Great Danes have won nine of 11 Northeast Conference openers since joining the league in 1999.

About the Dukes: Duquesne is 1-1 all-time in Northeast Conference openers. Senior receiver Connor Dixon played quarterback last season and is a transfer from MichiganState.

Edge: The Great Danes are on the road, but they still have the upper hand.

About the Engineers (WPI): WPI has a new coach in Chris Robertson, who came to Worcester from Salve Regina. Robertson coached with former WPI coach Ed Zaloom at Siena and played football at the University at Albany. This game marks a return home for Kevin Woods (HoosickFalls), Jerrod Heiser (Troy) and Greg Mollnow (Cohoes).

About the Engineers (RPI): The Transit Trophy was first awarded in 1979 to the winner of this engineering rivalry. RPI holds the edge in Transit games 21-8-1. Last week’s non-conference loss was only RPI’s second in the last six years (14-2).

Edge: RPI hasn’t lost the Transit Trophy since 1996, but they could be in trouble this season if they don’t play much better than they have this season.

UAlbany's RB Wilson suspended 1 week

ALBANY - Freshman running back Tramaine Wilson has been suspended for one week according to coach Bob Ford for violating team regulations.

Ford wouldn't elaborate, but said he will "hopefully" be back next week.

Wilson, who the coaches were very high on during the preseason, has rushed for 50 yards on 24 carries so far this season.

That leaves the Great Danes (1-1) with Andrew Smith, freshman Dillon Romain and redshirt freshman Amsterdam High graduate Ben Miseikis in the back field for Saturday's Northeast Conference opener at Duquesne (2-1).

Smith will play, after missing the Stephen F. Austin game because of a leg injury.

Other Injury notes:

Left guard Kyle O'Keefe back, but won't play the whole game

Wide receiverJason Poore has a hamstring issue, but he'll play

"There's two times that you're going to be healthy," Ford said. "Fourth of July and Christmas. In between, you'll always have aches and pains."

FCS Top 25 - Sept. 20

I've made my first picks for The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25.

I made the selections on Sunday and they were released on Monday.

I put UAlbany's Northeast Conference foe Robert Morris in at No. 25 after the Colonials upset then No. 15 Liberty. UAlbany (1-1) plays at Robert Morris (2-1) on Oct. 16. Yale is also receiving votes. The Great Danes play the Bulldogs on Oct. 2. Stephen F. Austin who handed UAlbany their only loss is ranked No. 6, up four spots after beating previous No. 13 Northern Iowa.

Here is my ballot with the actual ranking in parentheses, if different.

Local College Football Capsules

Records: UAlbany (1-0 overall) — Stephen F. Austin (0-1 overall)Last Meeting: First Meeting.Last Week: UAlbany defeated Maine 3-0 — Stephen F. Austin lost to Texas A&M 48-7 About the Great Danes: UAlbany is coming off of their first season-opening shutout since 1979, when they defeated Hobart 10-0. The Great Danes are playing their highest ranked opponent since opening the 2008 season against No.5 Massachusetts, a game they lost 28-16. The most recent ranked opponent UAlbany played was last season against No. 20 Maine, which they won 20-16. About the Lumberjacks: In 2009, Stephen F. Austin led the country in passing yards (343.7), was second in total offense (468.9) and sixth in scoring (34.9 ppg). Quarterback Jeremy Moses is already the school’s all-time leading passer and is on the Walter Payton Award Watch List, given to the top player in the country. Coach J.C. Harper was a grad assistant under both current Texas coach Mack Brown at North Carolina and Lou Holtz at Notre Dame.Edge: Stephen F. Austin is playing at home and they are the better team. UAlbany will have to play great to come up with an upset.

Records: RPI (0-0 overall) — Endicott (1-0 overall)Last Meeting: RPI 28, Endicott 0 at East Campus Stadium, Troy, Sept. 12, 2009 — RPI leads the all-time series 6-0Last Week: Endicott defeated Framingham State 33-27, 3OTAbout the Engineers: RPI has won nine consecutive season openers. Senior captain Pat McCarthy caught 12 passes for a personal best 195 yards last year against Endicott. The Engineers have never lost in three games at Endicott.About the Gulls: Endicott was ranked to finish third in the Boyd Division of the New England Football Conference (NEFC) in the preseason poll. In six games against RPI, the Gulls have averaged just six points.Edge: RPI has the upper hand. The Engineers are looking for a solid 2010 season and this is the beginning.

Records: Union (0-0 overall) — Ithaca (1-0 overall)Last Meeting: Union 24, No. 8 Ithaca 21 at Frank Bailey Field, Schenectady, Sept. 12, 2009 — The all-time series is tied 3-3Last Week: Ithaca defeated St. Lawrence 33-3 About the Dutchmen: Union begins the season receiving votes in the D3Football.com Top 25 poll. Senior running back Chris Coney rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s meeting against Ithaca.About the Bombers: After a slow start last week, Ithaca scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to finish off St. Lawrence. In three all-time meetings, Ithaca coach Mike Welch has not defeated Union. Welch and Union coach John Audino were members of the 1976 coaching staff at UAlbany.Edge: This is a bit of a toss up. Union is likely the better team, while Ithaca is at home. It should be a terrific game.

About Me

Andrew Santillo is a sports reporter at The Record in Troy, New York. Originally from Niskayuna, Andrew graduated from Ithaca College in 2005 with a degree in journalism. He currently resides in Albany.